Heart of Ice

Chapter Thirty-Five

Song: hate u love u- Olivia O'Brian

A few months ago...

When I was younger, no one mentioned the naivety that comes along with the last few teenage years. Maybe it's because I was expected to be more mature and aware of the world with all of the preparation for the war with Bloodbound, but I still had some serious teenage moments that hit me head on and left me floundering like a fish who didn't know how to swim in the ocean.

And from what I've learned, my ocean has some knock-out, drag-out waves.

Most of the time, those waves are triggered by Hunter.

Now, that may sound bad, but a lot of the time, they aren't necessarily something he's done to me as an enemy, but moments that take me entirely by surprise which I have no idea how to handle or address.

Like, for instance, a few days before we were taken by Bloodbound.

The big blockbuster moment had been building up for days. We fought so much, Brett had to physically separate us, even when we were training. Hunter wasn't happy with things I did. I couldn't stand his attitude. One of us breathed the wrong way. It was always something. With every fight we had, I could feel the storm brewing, practically see the dark cloud making its way toward us.

The evening before Bloodbound arrived, I was on edge. I had assumed it was from the cut-knife tension between Hunter and I, but I was oblivious to the real reason; I always felt on edge before the monumental nightmares that were so real, they didn't ever feel like a deception.

I just walk out of the bathroom after getting ready for bed when Hunter walks in, his nose stuck in his phone as he lays down, not even sparing me a glance. It isn't the fact that he's focused on his phone that makes me angry— it's the way he's smiling at whoever he's talking to. At first, I ignore it and crawl into bed beside him, but when he starts chuckling as his smile grows bigger, I let out an exasperated sigh. He pauses for a moment to raise his eyebrow at me, but then continues tapping against the screen. "Something wrong, angel?"

"It's 9:30pm and I'm ready for bed."

"Okay, and? What's stopping you?"

"Your phone screen is bright."

"Then turn the other way."

"We both have to train early tomorrow and we have night watch duty."

"First of all, you never go to bed before 11pm and I don't think you'll start now," He lowers his phone to look at me. "Second of all, I've been on my phone before and you've never complained."

He's right on both accounts, but he doesn't need to know that. So, I huff, cross my arms, and ignore his observations. "Who're you texting anyway?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hunter smirks. "Oh, I see what's going on. You're jealous."

Good thing it's dark aside from his phone light, or else he would see the red that fans across my cheeks. "Please, you're nothing to get jealous over."

"Sure. Well, if you're just dying to know, I'm texting a girl. I won't give away who, though."

The red on my face is no longer from blushing-- it shifts to anger, and I'm not sure why. "She can wait until morning then, can't she?"

"Alaska, I'm not stopping what I'm doing just because you can't stand me talking to any girl besides you."

The urge to deck him is strong, and I almost can't hold myself back. Instead, I snatch my phone off the nightstand, open my texts, and go to a random conversation. "Yeah? Well, I can text someone else too. Maybe someone more my age, like you've said before."